There's one constant in every rejected state budget plan coming out of Harrisburg, that's a raise in the cigarette tax. In that land of the moral and mental midgets, cigarette smokers are the low hanging fruit. They're not exactly an organized group, with a lobby defending their interests. Back here, in the land of private bonanza, any increase goes straight into J.B.'s pocket. Only Allentown, in Pennsylvania, could be having a $Billion Dollar building boom, which doesn't benefit anybody, but one man.
above reprinted from December 22, 2015
ADDENDUM OCTOBER 22, 2024:Students of this blog know that I have been on the NIZ case from the beginning. The NIZ is a state ordinance which allows diverted state taxes to be used for the debt service on privately owned buildings, but only in Allentown. The plan was designed by then state senator Pat Browne. Almost all the new buildings financed with this plan in Allentown are owned by one man, J.B. Reilly, a childhood friend of Browne. In addition to the state taxes, the cigarette tax was thrown in Reilly's pot.
Aside from this blogger, there was little interest concerning the NIZ inequities, until new state senator Jarrett Coleman realized how derelict the state house was in its lack of oversight. Before leaving office, Browne shrouded the NIZ data in additional layers of privacy. If all that wasn't shelter enough, new governor Shapiro appointed Browne Dirctor of Revenue. Needless to say, requests for NIZ data went unanswered. Coleman stayed with the inquiry, despite all the obstacles. Yesterday the state supreme court sided with Coleman.
ADDENDUM OCTOBER 23, 2024:Browne testified before the state senate yesterday, and Coleman is justifiably not satisfied with the answers. Browne's defense is that he is limited by the statues that he helped add in 2021, and the tax privacy rights of two beneficiaries. I suspect that the two are Reilly and Jaindl, concerning their wholesale cigarette entities. Although mandated by the NIZ ordinance, no audits have been performed since the inception of the NIZ.
Finally; the plot will begin to unfold.
ReplyDelete"And we're livin'' here in Allentown"
If Browne has recourse through the federal court system remains to be seen. If he goes that way, then the question is who interests is he serving, Pa. tax payers or Reilly? With that question, we have to wonder about Shapiro having appointed Browne.
DeleteThe whole secrecy thing is a farce. If I wanted to know who was awarded ANY government contract and how much that contract was for, could I not easily obtain that information?
ReplyDeleteYet if I want to know the amount of tax dollars diverted from businesses within the NIZ that’s supposed to be a secret? Ridiculous!
It’s obvious that Pat Browne has something to hide.
At this point, it’s also become obvious that Governor Shapiro has something to hide as well, or he would have been on the side of transparency and ordered HIS hand-picked Revenue Secretary (Browne) to release the info and spare the taxpayers the cost of defending Browne’s frivolous secrecy arguments in front of the courts.
As this is public money, and not being used for some classified program (the NIZ is not classified is it?) then the public has a right to see how their money is being expended.
ReplyDeleteThese non-disclosures can be construed as obstructions. I should hope these lawsuits open up the lock-box that these individuals have constructed to hide their doings on the public dime.
There is so much more waiting to be uncovered.The entire situation is virtually incomprehensible, it will probably take many years to be fully revealed but it is possible that the dam of secrecy could suddenly break.God bless you for staying on this M.M., and God speed to be young legislator working to bring this situation into the light of day.
ReplyDeleteRumor has it the Menendez brothers will be getting out of prison in the coming weeks. Looks like there will be some vacancies that our politicians, mayors, and/or developers could fill.
ReplyDeleteWhy all the secrecy? Easy answer. The Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone will be shown to have been a massive loser by the numbers.
ReplyDeleteThose properties within the designated Allentown zone were already producing PA state taxes. The scheme was promoted as a way to INCREASE revenue for the Commonwealth by bringing in ADDITIONAL taxes beyond what had been standard.
The plan came up short, as tax revenue was brought in from business and operations already located elsewhere in Pennsylvania. Out-of-state dollars never materialized in an amount sufficient to justify obligating our taxpayers to pay for all the construction costs.
Even employment tax dollars from people to now be working inside the zone would be coming from those already paying such taxes in some other PA address.
Making matters worse, we didn’t even gain some percentage of equity interest in the structures. If Mr. Reilly decides to sell off any of the buildings, we taxpayers get nothing to show for our investment. We were never made part owners!
This plan was hatched under the cover of darkness. It’s well past time to evaluate this. All of it. To determine if it should continue going forward.
If our tax money went to pay for buildings built in the NIZ, the tax payers should own them.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, if Shapiro has any national political aspirations he'll distance himself from the NIZ, Browne and everything related to how huge amounts of Pennsylvania tax dollars have been secretly taken control of by a private and exclusive few insiders.
ReplyDeleteThe result of the NIZ is that Allentown's central business district has been transformed by one man into an impersonal office park under the control of that one man for the aggrandizement of that one man.
Allentown's problems have always been rooted in the residential neighborhoods, not on its commercial main street. It is the height of folly that all that money has been spent and not one struggling neighborhood has been improved. The NIZ hit the target it was designed to hit but missed hitting the target needed to improve Allentown.
anons7:07,7:16: To my knowledge the NIZ is legal, having been passed by the state house over a decade ago. It was stacked that only Allentown qualified. The push out of the former owners was highly unethical, involving threats. The Morning Call property was included in the zone, and they provided no scrutiny, to the point of being complicit. They did file a RTK, but only after they liquidated their property and benefitted.
ReplyDeleteanon@7:23: I have reported on numerous questionable aspects of the NIZ not covered elsewhere.
anon@8:24: Even LVHN is involved. They located their department head offices in the top of the arena entrance (Reilly owns the front of the arena building)so that the state taxes on their highest paid employees go to Reilly.
anon 9:01: Shapiro saw all the new buildings, but was clueless on the back story.... hopefully he was clueless.
Clueless will be his excuse but it's only an excuse. As attorney general he had to know something wasn't right about this. He looked the other way, then looked to Pat to be his Treasury Secretary. Funny how that worked out...isn't it? When theres the smell of corruption it's usually politicians that stink. Scott Armstrong
DeleteMM 9:23 said “Shapiro saw all the new buildings, but was clueless on the back story.... hopefully he was clueless.”
ReplyDeleteI used to think Shapiro was clueless on the back story as well. But his appointment of Browne, then a recently-defeated state senator with 3 DUI’s under his belt, as Revenue Secretary made me wonder. The fact that Shapiro hasn’t made this information public has only confirmed my suspicions.
Shapiro was not a Harrisburg outsider prior to being elected Governor. In fact, he was the PA Attorney General from 2017 to 2023 and was a county power-broker in state politics prior to that.
While a county power-broker, I believe he also had ties to Pawlowski fundraising schemes.
His actions now - or inactions - are telling.
Let's face it. Shapiro made his bones (so to speak) by chasing down 70-year-old, often unprovable accusations against long-dead priests. Congrats, Josh, on bankrupting the houses of worship for tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians.
DeleteMost people consider holding the church responsible for a pattern of abuse not inappropriate.
DeleteI hear you, Mike. There is no excuse for child abuse. However, there is also no excuse for accusing people with little or no proof.....especially decades after the alleged crime.
DeleteGrand jury reports are supposed to detail evidence of crimes, they are not supposed to be opinion peices.
DeleteWe may have Sen. Coleman to thank for Shapiro not being on the national ticket. He was in the legislature and then served two terms as PA Atty General, so cannot claim ignorance about these NIZ shenanigans.
ReplyDeleteAt this point I wouldn't consider the NIZ controversial even on the local level, much less state and national. However, its passage back when shows the power that these incumbents accumulate, and how our bloated statehouse is so far removed from the constituents.
DeleteSo far, no comments from J.B. Reilly or Sy Traub?
ReplyDeleteJust read today’s Morning Call article on this matter. Let’s all now consider 700 million dollars originally designed to pay for a collection of important social service programs designed to help all citizen groups has been diverted away.
ReplyDeleteThe lost funds for those social service programs have, instead, been used to build a private real estate empire for a single private citizen. This is beyond revolting! Every citizen living in Pennsylvania Should be outraged.
And to think this program actually continues on? With the gifted amount of OUR money growing even higher. Unbelievable.
Where is the national news media to investigate this type of thing?
Whose purposes does our State Legislature actually serve?